Safety saddle-stirrup.



H. P. SKINNER.

SAFETY SADDLE STIRRUP.

APPLICATION FILED AUG- 11. 1914.

1,148,1 97. Pat ented July 27, 1915.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH 50., WASHINGTON, D. C.

alto-cum n HENRY P. SKINNER, OF UNION, MISSISSIPPI.

SAFETY SADDLE-STIRRUP.

Application filed August 17, 1914.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HENRY P. SKINNER, acitizen of the United States, residing at Union, in the county ofNewton, State of Mississippi, have invented'certain new and.

useful Improvements in Safety Saddle- Stirrups; and I do hereby declarethe following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

The object of the invention is to provide an improved safety stirrupadapted to open automatically in the event of the riders falling fromhis saddle thereby releasing his foot and consists in the construction,combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully describedand claimed.

In the accompanying drawing in which similar reference characters referto similar parts in all the views, Figure 1 is a front elevation of adevice constructed in accordance with the invention. Fig. 2 is a sideelevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of thesame along the line 33 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a top plan detail view ofthe tread bar and Fig. 5 is a detail view of the latch and spring.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 1 represents the stirrupgenerally comprising side bars 2 and 3 of uniform length connected attheir upper ends by the crossbar 5 to which the stirrup strap 4: isattached.

A tread-bar 6 providing a support fon the foot of the rider has one endthereof hingedly attached at 7 to the downwardly projecting tenonedextremity 37 of the side number 3 and the opposite end thereof receivesthe tenon 23 extending flush with the side face of the number 2 betweenbifurcations 24 and 25.

A trip-lever 10 mounted in oppositely disposed recesses 11 and 12 of thebars 2 and 3 and at a distance from the tread-bar less than the width ofthe foot extends transversely of the stirrup, and an angular latchnumber 14 pivoted on the outer side face of the bar 2 at 15 is providedtransversely of the lower end thereof with a catch bar 16 of a lengthgreater than the transverse width of the side bar and normally engaginga notch 22 transversely of the bifurcated ends 21 and 25 at the free endofthe tread-bar. A cord or wire 26 of such length that it is not adaptedto exert a trac- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 27, 1915.

Serial No. 857,172.

tional impulse until the trip lever 10 has been upwardly displaced tothe tops of the recesses lland 12, is attached to the eye 37 in theupper end 27' of the latch 14 and passes through the recess 12 and alongthe upper side of the trip-member 10, vertically through the slottedaperture 27 therein, thence downwardly within the slotted aperture 28 ofthe tread-bar 6 where the lower extremity of said cord is rigidlyattached to the bar 29 transversely of said aperture. An expansionspring 30 pivotally attached at 31 to the side face of the bar 2adjacent to the slotted aperture 12 bears outwardly upon the upper endof the latch number 14: and normally presses the catch 16 in engagementwith the notch 22 of the tread bar 6. A guard 32 rigidly attached at oneextremity to the outer side face of the bar 2 and at the lower extremitythereof connected to the end of the tenon 23 protects the latch number14 from disarrangement.

The strap 4: is intended for attachment to a saddle bracket and the footof the rider is normally supported on the tread bar 6 in the usualmanner. If the rider should be thrown from the saddle and the foot turnsin the stirrup the inner side of the riders foot is brought intoengagement with the trip member 10 displacing it upwardly to its limitwithin the recesses 11 and 12 exerting a tension upon the cord 26attached to the end 27 of the latch 14:, retracting the latch againstthe tension of the spring 30 releasing the catch 16 from engagement withthe notch 22 of the tread-bar 16 permitting the tread-bar to opendownwardly turning ,upon the hinge 7 and releasing the foot from thestirrup. I

What is claimed is:

In a safety stirrup the combination with side bars upwardly connected toa cross-bar, of a tread-bar bifurcated at each end and hingedlyconnected at one end to the inner side bar, the bifurcations at theopposite end of said tread-bar engaging a tenon at the extremity of theouter side bar, a transverse trip-member slidably mounted in oppositelydisposed slotted recesses longitudinally of the side bars, the lowerextremities of said slots being at a distance from the treadbar lessthan the horizontal distance be tween said side-bars, an angular latchmember pivoted to the side face of the outer bar, 7

an outwardly impelling compression spring mounted in the side baradjacent to the upper part of said latch between the pivotal attachmentand the lower end of the adjacent slotted recess, a catch transverselyof the lower end of said latch adapted to engage a slotted aperturetransversely of the bifurcated outer end of said tread-bar and the tenonon the outer side bar in their assembled position, a cord normallyloose, attached to the upper end of said latch member passing upwardlyof said trip member and downwardly through an aperture therein andrigidly secured to the tread-bar adjacent to its hinged extremity, and aguard attached to the side face and end of the outer side bar adapted toprotect the latch member from disarrangement.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature, in the presence of twowitnesses.

HENRY P. SKINNER.

Witnesses J. G. PIERCE, A. L. GIPsoN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

